Universe in Flames 3: Destination Oblivion

by Christian Kallias

  Chase extended his right hand and extracted the blade with his mind, plunging it so deeply into the opposite wall that only the handle showed. At the same time he used his power to lower the man slowly, until his feet touched the ground.

  “So?” asked Chase.

  The man put his hand on the blood-gushing wound and spoke. “Take a right at end of the corridor, then go all the way through and take the last left. Zarnor’s operation is there.”

  Chase extended his arm towards the man’s shoulder.

  “Please don’t kill me. I told you what you wanted to know!”

  “Shut up and hold still,” said Chase, removing the man’s hand from his wound and applying his own.

  He healed the man in less than three seconds. The man looked at his closing wound and his eyes grew with astonishment.

  “There, good as new. I suggest you find another career path, though,” said Chase, not waiting for an answer as he resumed walking.

  Two minutes later he arrived at his destination. Two huge, pink-skinned goons, with bloodshot, red eyes, stepped in front of him. Behind them a green insectoid sat at a black desk. He spoke. “It’s invite only. Get lost!”

  “I need something and I’ve been told you can provide it.”

  “I don’t deal with strangers.”

  “Well, today you’ll make an exception.”

  The insectoid made a clicking sound and his goons jumped at Chase.

  “For the love of—”

  Chase sprang into the air and somersaulted behind them. He then turned around, extended his arms and sent a powerful telekinetic wave towards the goons, who rebounded against each other before crashing against the walls on each side of the corridor. They collapsed on the ground with a very satisfying and synchronized thud. Chase turned back to the insectoid.

  “Look, I’m not here to cause any problems, but I’m sick and tired of people’s attitude tonight. I came in good faith hoping you could help me, but if you’d like to see how I can use my powers to dismember you and then just take whatever the fuck I want from your inventory, let me know, ’cause I’m losing patience here.”

  The insectoid clicked multiple times nervously. “That won’t be necessary. What are you looking for? And whatever it is, it’s on the house.”

  Chase took credits from his pockets and threw them on the table. “I don’t need a freebie. Hopefully this can buy me something nice?”

  The insectoid looked at the credits with a gleam in his eye.

  “Whatever you want, in fact.”

  “Good. I need something for numbing pain.”

  “A painkiller? I have them all.”

  “Not that kind of pain.”

  “Ooooh, I see. You need to forget something or someone.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Then may I suggest synthesized Kyrian snake venom?”

  “Yeah, give me a double shot of that.”

  “One dose will suffice. More could kill you.”

  “If only . . . Give me a double shot, please.”

  The insectoid clicked while looking in a drawer within his desk. “Your funeral.”

  “Not likely.”

  “There, my last two doses. I can’t stress enough how dangerous it is to get more than one per day, though.”

  “You said that already. Jack me up.”

  Chase extended his arm. The insectoid took the vial, inserted it into a medical gun and injected Chase subcutaneously with a small whooshing sound as he pressed the trigger.

  “How long does it—”

  “Not long, as you can probably feel already. In five minutes you won’t remember your own name.”

  Chase felt a burning sensation, followed by a soothing and warm feeling. He started to feel light-headed.

  “Any side effects?”

  “Besides overdosing? If you survive this—and I should really stress the ‘if’ part—once the poison is out of your system, you may find yourself craving more. But it usually takes three or four injections for the craving to be so strong you need it daily.”

  “Charming. Anything else?”

  “Yeah, you’ll probably be quite angry once the drug is out of your bloodstream; like homicidal-maniac-violent for a few hours.”

  “That should prove interesting.”

  “I don’t plan to be around then, if you survive.”

  “Oh, I will survive. The universe isn’t done fucking with me yet and I’m not done paying it back.”

  “Whatever, man. Nice doing business with you. How long are my goons gonna be out?”

  “Maybe an hour or two.”

  “Swell. I guess I’m off for the night then. So long, stranger.” He clicked a button on the underside of his desk and thin walls closed in front of his desk, effectively transforming it into a dead-end corridor.

  Chase started back the way he had come but after a few steps he lost his balance and crashed to the ground. He registered no pain at all at the impact. But the pain within his soul grew smaller at an exponential rate. He barely managed to set an alarm on his wrist band before falling into an inviting and sweet darkness.

  * * *

  Chase was lying in tall, green grass. He brushed the grass with his hand and felt at peace. The sky was magnificent: dark blue and purple hues, with pink clouds dancing in a circle. Then he heard her voice.

  “Chase! Where are you hiding, silly?”

  “I’m over here,” he said, raising himself from the ground.

  Sarah ran toward him, holding the hand of a small boy about five years old. The child released himself, ran quickly towards Chase and jumped into his arms. Chase lifted him towards the sky and spun around a few times. He then brought the child toward him and kissed him on the cheek.

  “Daddy!” said the boy, with a broad and innocent smile.

  “You’re okay, buddy? Are you hungry?”

  “No, I’m fine. I want to play with you though.”

  “What do you want to play at?”

  “I want you to make me fly, Daddy.”

  Sarah embraced him from behind. He turned and kissed her passionately on the mouth.

  “Always a favorite.”

  Chase smiled. He lifted his son with his mind and sent him flying around. He extended his arms in front of him and laughed hysterically.

  “You’re alright, my love?” asked Sarah.

  “Couldn’t be better. You?”

  “Yeah. We’ve been looking for you since he woke from his nap.”

  Chase smiled. His heart felt warm. He was happy beyond his wildest dreams.

  After flying the boy around for a few minutes, he brought him down.

  “Again, Daddy, again.”

  “Later, son. Let’s go for a walk, okay?”

  The boy closed his eyes and nodded in agreement with a big smile. They walked for the next hour and arrived by a river bed. Sarah and Chase sat on the grass while the child chased a beautiful, green-orange butterfly, the sound of his laughter echoing in the valley. Sarah put her head on Chase’s shoulder for a while. He brushed her satin red hair and reveled in its intoxicating perfume. They lay on the ground and kissed for a very long time.

  “Chris looks so much like you.”

  “Does he, now? I always thought he was as pretty as his mother.”

  “He even has your eye color.”

  “It’s popular with girls.”

  She punched him on the shoulder affectionately.

  “How would you know? Perhaps it’s just popular with me.”

  “As long as you like it, that’s all I care about, my love.”

  “Don’t try to charm yourself out of this.”

  “You know I only have eyes for you, my sweet wife.”

  “Good save,” she said with a broad smile, before kissing him sweetly on the lips.

  “I love you so much. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

  “I love you too, Chase, and you’ll have me for as long as I live.”

  A tear escaped from Chase’s
left eye.

  “What is it?”

  “Nothing. I’m just so happy.”

  Chris approached and jumped up and down.

  “What is it, Chris?” asked Chase

  “I want to fish!”

  “Alright. Just remember what I told you last time. Go easy on them, okay?”

  He smiled and nodded, and then he ran to the river and looked at the surface.

  “Perhaps you should supervise him?” said Sarah.

  “He’ll be fine. It’s only fish.”

  Chris extended an open palm and shot a small, yellow fireball into the water. The impact raised the water and with it a big, purple fish flew into the air. He ran into the water and jumped to catch it before it fell back. The fish was clearly stunned.

  “All good, son?”

  “I think fishy is sleeping.”

  Chase looked at Sarah who gave him a big smile.

  “So you caught dinner?” said Chase playfully.

  “No! I don’t want to eat fishy. Fishies are my friends!”

  “That’s a good boy. Perhaps you should help him wake up then?”

  Chris smiled and placed his hand on the fish, bathing it with white light. Soon it started flapping about and escaped the boy’s hands, returning to the water.

  “Bye, fishy, see you soon,” said Chris joyfully.

  He came back, all wet, towards his parents.

  Chase raised one hand and dried his son with a swift and warm air current.

  “Thank you, Daddy. Will you teach me that too?”

  “Sure thing, son.”

  A thunderclap resonated within the valley and the sky began to darken.

  “Looks like it’s gonna rain,” said Sarah.

  She stood and extended her hand towards Chris. “Let’s go home and prepare dinner for Daddy. Want to help me, sweetie?”

  Chris jumped in excitement. “Yes, I want to cook with you, Mommy.”

  Sarah looked at Chase. “You’re coming?”

  “Go ahead. I’ll be right behind you.”

  She winked at him and they left.

  Chase looked at the ominous sky. He was surprised how quickly the weather had changed. He walked by the river bed, taking a small pebble and sending it flying at the surface of the water. The sheer power of its increasing velocity split the water in two for a few hundred feet.

  “I need to talk with you,” said a voice behind Chase.

  The sky turned darker. Chase spun around.

  “Hello, Ares, what can I do for you?” Chase started to feel dread within his soul, but couldn’t really understand why.

  “Interesting dream you’re having. Are you high?”

  Then it came back to him. He had taken some sort of hallucinogenic venom. None of this was real. Tears flowed down his cheeks.

  “I’m sorry to drag you out of your reverie.”

  “Not as sorry as I am. I like it here. Wish I could stay here forever.”

  “One day, perhaps.”

  “Let me guess, once I defeat Argos? I thought I told you I didn’t want to talk to you or Aphroditis anymore.”

  “I know, but you need to understand something.”

  “Yeah? What’s that?”

  “Aphroditis didn’t ask you to kill Sarah, and—”

  “Chris, his name would have been Chris.”

  Ares’ expression grew darker and he only nodded in response.

  “She did tell me I had to kill her. I remember it very well.”

  “No, she tried to warn you that our communications had been compromised, most likely by Argos.”

  “What are you trying to tell me, Ares?”

  “That Argos, somehow, must have impersonated Aphroditis and given you that order.”

  Chase made fists and the ground started shaking.

  “Easy, Chase, you could destroy the place your physical body is in right now.”

  “I’m not sure I care.”

  “Well, if you want to be given the opportunity to exact revenge on Argos, perhaps you should.”

  Chase closed his eyes and tried calming down. Projecting a mental image of Sarah and Chris seemed to do the trick pretty fast.

  “Good. Now understand this: we are both very sorry for what happened.”

  “And that helps me how?”

  “I didn’t say it would help, Chase, I’m just telling you I’m sorry. We both are.”

  “Right, thanks, I guess . . .”

  “Chase, you’re hurting right now. It’s understandable, but you need to heal. You can’t expect to defeat Argos if you don’t process your grief first.”

  “Actually I think my hatred for Argos should be all I require to kill him.”

  “Anger and hate will cloud your judgment when the time comes. Argos might exploit that.”

  “He is welcome to try.”

  “And what if he kills you?”

  “Then I will join Sarah at the gates of heav . . .” Chase let the sentence hang as more tears flowed down his face.

  “I see. Look, I— What the?”

  “What is it?”

  “Oh no! He’s here!”

  “Who’s there?” asked Chase with genuine concern.

  Chase heard an echoing voice in the valley.

  “Speaking to my brother, Ares? Say hello for me, will ya?”

  Ares looked at Chase with terror in his eyes. Chase’s blood started to boil.

  “Where are you, Ares? How can I help?”

  “You can’t. It’s too late. I’ll have to face Argos myself.”

  “But you said—”

  “Yes, Chase, I know what I said. I will try to hold him off as much as I can, to give Aphroditis a fighting chance to escape, but you must help her! Please help her!”

  “Ares!” said Chase as his mentor’s body faded away before his eyes.

  The sky turned dark red and lightning strikes fell all around.

  “Tell me where you are!!!”

  “We’re in the Megara sector, Chase. Goodbye . . .”

  “Aaaaaaareeeeees!” shouted Chase, before falling to his knees as the world around him was destroyed a little more with every new crimson lightning strike.

  * * *

  Chase awoke and felt his wrist buzz and vibrate. He blinked his eyes multiple times and a foul odor reached his nostrils. A Brin was reaching for him.

  “Get the fuck away from me!” he muttered.

  The Brin grinned, jumped back to his feet and took a blaster out of his holder.

  Not in the mood, thought Chase.

  He jumped to his feet and kicked the Brin in the guts. The Brin fell to his knees, dropping his blaster, his wind cut from the impact of the kick.

  A wave of hate permeated every fiber of Chase’s being and his eyes glowed intensely. He took a step towards the Brin and put his palm on the Brin’s head. The body instantly exploded into a million pieces and splattered blood all over Chase and his surroundings.

  “Ooops,” said Chase out loud.

  Right, side effects, he remembered.

  He looked at the blood and guts on him and all around. He made his aura glow and it burned every trace to ashes.

  “Sorry, dude, don’t know how to heal someone in this . . .”—he made a face that clearly expressed his disgust—“state.”

  He looked at his wrist and saw he was already late for his meeting with Keera.

  “Dammit!” he said. His feet elevated from the ground and he flew within the corridors at maximum speed.

  * * *

  Keera was standing in launch bay seven near Chase’s craft, looking at her wrist.

  “Where are you, Chase?” she said out loud.

  She heard multiple steps coming down the nearest corridor. It was Tron’Tak and five of his goons. She did not like this one bit.

  Tron’Tak was a tall and muscled blue-skinned humanoid with brown dreadlocks of dirty hair, yellow teeth and more than a few scars on his face.

  “What is this, Tron’Tak?”

  “I changed m
y mind. You can’t have that ship.”

  “A deal is a deal. You owed me anyway.”

  “I didn’t owe you that much.”

  “That’s not for you to decide. Back off, Tron’Tak! Get your goons and go back where you came from, if you value your lives.”

  “You’re good, Keera, but you’re not that good.”

  Sensing the inevitable, Keera sprang into action without waiting another moment. She took two small blades from her back and threw them at two of the goons. Both blades landed firmly within her targets’ brains and they collapsed to the ground. She then took her blaster from her holster, but Tron’Tak was faster and shot it out of her hands with his. It flew backwards and sparked upon impact with the ground. The other three goons ran towards her and turned on their light-blades. She parried the first incoming blade, ducked and unleashed a powerful, circling kick that swiped her assailant off balance. She grabbed his light-blade and used it to stop the attack from the next goon. When the blades collided, they crackled loudly. She kicked the goon hard in the face and used her blade to impale the previous attacker before he had time to recover from his fall. He screeched briefly before his eyes turned dead.

  The goon she had kicked got back up and raised his blade in a defensive stance, while the other ran towards her, screaming from the bottom of his lungs.

  Amateur, she thought.

  She easily dodged his incoming blade and, in a fluid motion, she decapitated him. His body kept running while his head fell near her feet and rolled a little, his lifeless stare locked into a state of utter terror. She lost no time and threw her light-blade spinning towards the last goon. He blocked the blade with his own and it fell to the ground, but by then she was upon him. She took a thin, sharp, long blade from behind her skin-tight body armor and before the goon could react she sliced him in two with a fluid, vertical motion.

  But then it all went bad. She felt a dart impact her jugular. She pulled it from her neck, but felt the effect of the poison almost immediately. She swore as she heard Tron’Tak laugh. She turned towards him and saw a sick smile on his face.

  She tried to take a step forward but she couldn’t feel her muscles anymore. Her grip on her blade loosened first, and it fell to the ground with a metallic clunk. Her legs were next to give in and she fell down face first. Her head hit the ground with pounding pain, and she almost lost consciousness, but could still hear the maddening laugh of Tron’Tak as he approached and grabbed her by the hair.